U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the 59th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars today, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields. The annoucment includes three Utah students who are recognized for their excellence.
The Utah scholars include (hometown, scholar, school, location):
- UT – Salt Lake City – Michael Ogden Chen, Hillcrest High School, Midvale, Utah.
- UT – Salt Lake City – Priyanka Mathews, Hillcrest High School, Midvale, Utah.
- UT – Salt Lake City – Aaron Wang, Skyline High School, Salt Lake City, Utah. (U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education)
“I always looks forward to meeting Utah’s Presidential Scholars each spring, and to hearing their stories. It’s exciting to see these ambitious young students, with so much drive, dedication, and promise. They are truly an inspiration to me, as well as to their peers and educators. Congratulations Michael, Priyanka, and Aaron,” said Utah’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sydnee Dickson.
Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored over 8,000 of the nation’s top-performing students. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects students each year based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership. One young man and one young woman are selected from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 scholars in the arts, and 20 scholars in career and technical education.
Of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,000 candidates qualified for the 2023 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams, or through nominations made by chief state school officers, other partner recognition organizations and YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists. This makes this accomplishment even more prestigious and we congratulate Michael, Priyanka, and Aaron. They will be recognized for their outstanding achievement this summer with an online recognition program.
A complete list of 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars is available at http://www.ed.gov/psp.
